Iraq Faces Schools Crisis

By Wassim Bassem for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

BABIL, Iraq — Under the rule of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (2006-14), $150 million was allocated to the construction and development of public schools in several Iraqi areas. Yet only 6% of the project was implemented.

As a result, there is a significant shortfall in the number of school buildings, while classrooms are extremely packed and overcrowded. The Ministry of Education announced on Sept. 16, 2015, that Iraq is in need of about 9,000 new schools, given the overcrowded classrooms that negatively affect the educational process.

In the same vein, on Nov. 4, 2015, an Iraqi citizen staged a two-day sit-in in Karam al-Bari primary school in northern Dhi Qar province, south of Baghdad, protesting the large number of students, which exceeds 60, in the same classroom.

Majed Fadel, a professor from Babil, told Al-Monitor, “Given the large number of students in the same classroom, the teaching process and conveying the message to all students have become a difficult task to achieve, as not all of them would be focused on what the teachers are saying.”